A fairlead, such as a hawse fairlead, may be used to guide and restrict lateral movement of a rope and/or cable, as the rope and/or cable is pulled through the fairlead. Fairleads may be used in winches, hoists, boats, and other applications where a rope and/or cable is subjected to bi-directional motion. In some applications, such as in winching operations, it may be desirable to attach lights to the fairlead to increase visibility. The lights may be attached to a frame of the fairlead, and may provide increased illumination in front of the fairlead.
However, the inventors herein have recognized several problems with such fairleads. As one example, aftermarket lights that are attached to the fairlead may require increased electrical wiring, leading to added expense. Further, such attachable fairlead lights may be exposed to environmental elements, such as rain, snow, dirt, mud, etc., which may degrade the lights. Additionally, multiple lights must be added to the fairlead to provide both front and rear lighting of the fairlead. Thus in one example, the above issues may be at least partially addressed by a fairlead, comprising: a frame including a central, first opening and a second opening spaced away from the first opening; and a lighting system included within the frame, the lighting system comprising a plurality of lights disposed within and extending along the second opening. In some examples, the integrated lighting system may include LED lights. The LED lights may comprise a circuit board including a semiconductor light source that generates visible light in response to a supplied electric current. The circuit board may be in face-sharing contact with inner walls of the frame within the second opening.
In this way, the structural integrity and longevity of fairlead lights may be increased by integrating the lighting system within the frame of the fairlead and thus reducing exposure to environmental elements. Further, heat dissipation from the circuit board of the LED lights may be increased by positioning the circuit board in physical contact with the frame of the fairlead. As such, performance and operational periods of the lights may be increased.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.
The figures are drawn to scale, although other relative dimensions may be used, if desired.